I've wanted to go to Mars for the last 12 years or so. I think it is the next major step for humanity, and the single biggest leap we can make as a species with a few individuals. It would have tremendous leverage in terms of technological development and stimulus, we'd learn a lot about Mars (and through comparative planetology, also about Earth).

Imagine having even a few humans on Mars. The cost is negligible to our society, but I can't think of a better way to learn about how to have people live in space long-term, how to recycle water, energy, and air, produce food, and become truly sustainable in the long term.

Resiliency, adaptability, curiosity, ability to trust, creativity/resourcefulness. However, I would also add tthat the key thing overall would be attitude - capacity for self-reflection, and sense of purpose.

Eventually, the goal is to drive us towards becoming a multi-planet species, and we should start with somewhere relatively close that has the best conditions we know of to support long term human settlement.

It would be a learning experience that would bring people together since it's an international venture. Since it would be so highly publicized, it would be an inspiration to our youth, which would have a long term stimulating effect on our economy.

Hi Raye, I would have picked an almost identical list for a shopping list of characteristics. I think I qualify in all those regards, but I think my particular strengths from that set lie in adaptability, curiosity, and creativity. Plus an unswerving dedication to the mission, which relates to resiliency.

First of all, this is a proposal for 2023. Delays are possible - and common. Unrealistic? Well, who could have predicted a 1969 manning space landing in 1956? When Kennedy announced a moon landing, there wasn't even a rocket in space. Irresesponsible? Some people say the fact that this is a private-sector project means it is not responsible in focus or intent. I disagree. There is and will be a role for the private sector in space.

I'm pretty easy going, get along well with people, and work well in any team dynamic. In terms of ability to trust, I have no issues there, but for something this major and risky, I would need to have confidence in my team - I think this would be built up through years of living and training together.

I echo Raye's thoughts about the unrealistic question. I personally think it is a very long shot, but it is certainly within our ability to do this if people stand behind it. The major challenges will be funding and social acceptability. I think in addition to broadcasting, it will have to draw heavily on forms of crowdsourcing.

Andrew is right, completely right. While technology will get us there, it is teamwork that will help us survive. Strong technical skills and absence of psychiatric illness can not ensure effective crew performance. That's why training as a team, the creation of a sense of community, is important.

Irresponsible: absolutely not provided the crew know precisely what they are getting into. We've sent people into worse situations in the past. I personally would much rather go to Mars like this than serve on a World War 2 submarine. That was probably riskier, and entailed worse conditions.

This also brings us to the issue of danger. There is great danger. But this is not unique. Humans survive in taking risks. Daredevils will thrive, and need something to dare about. Mars One will not take advantage of applicants who are applying simply because they are unhappy with their lives on Earth. We will be looking for people who are well-educated, and living quite comfortable lives, and aware of the sense of risk. And in the 10 years they will be training, they will be informed and have all their illusions disabused. The possibility of manipulation is not possble.

Even though the whole experience taken together would be a new one, no individual part of the proposal is really unprecedented: we've gone on much more dangerous voyages for the sake of exploration in the past, we've confined people for long periods of time in small spaces sequestered from the outdoors, and we've sent people on one-ways missions, away from their friends and family, never to return.

Well, one of them is that they might find themselves on Mars doubting their decision to be part of this. This is why I believe the capacity for self-reflection is important. It reminds you of the original overriding impulse that one would have to be part of something like this. The impulse of humans is to push through crisis and grow through crisis.

It's through the screening process that we would try to grasp their understanding of the actual decision they have made - of this one-way trip, into an enviroment where nobody has gone. So there is this unknown.

However, I think when people think about this, they only think about the down side (maybe a loss aversion phenomenon)? They think about never seeing Earth again with their own eyes. They tend not to think about what would be gained: being the first human to see a Martian sunset, see the Martian sky, explore mountains, craters, and dried riverbeds, climb ravines, and tell their story to the world.

I think the gains trade well against the losses, especially combined with the fact that you'd feel a great sense of purpose. And you'd learn to appreciate the little things, away from our consumer society. Imagine how great a piece of chocolate would taste on Mars. I can imagine that the greenhouse would be the most popular location for the crew, bringing back reminders of Earth plant life, with chords of nature.

It's important to take care of this planet, no question about it. But this should not stop us from wanting to explore the farthest possiblities of humankind. People have gone into space because they have wanted to go into space. There are always more applicants for dangerous posts than there are opportuntiies. You can take care of Earth, then, and go into space similtaneously. Nobody is being indoctrinated or manipulated.

Absolutely, preserving the Earth is far more important than going to Mars, taken as a 1:1 comparison. Earth is the only planet we currently have. However, these goals are not in competition with each other - quite the opposite.

The whole notion of the good of mankind is never the primary reason for any exploratory adventure. It's always politics, finance, power, or just adventure itself. The good of mankind is always part of the reason, but not the whole reason. The main reason Buzz Aldrin went up to the Moon was because he wanted to do it. The good of mankind was maybe a close second.

Learning about other planets teaches us a lot about Earth - it's how we learned about climate change, nuclear winter, etc. And it had a huge impact in giving us perspective on our place in the Universe. Remember the Apollo 8 Earthrise shot of the Earth? It's a family portrait of humanity, and it taught us that Earth is a previous oasis floating against an ocean of space.

Having humans on Mars would not only directly teach us a lot about improving life on Earth through studies of atmospheres, geology, comparative planetology, and sustainability, but also provide a great deal of perspective when people looked up at that pale blue dot in the sky that represents everything anyone has ever known.

The realization that nuclear weapons could not only destroy entire cities, but potentially wipe out all of humanity, had a major impact in fighting the proliferation of nuclear weapons - and provided just one more reason for caution during the cold war.

Well, I should start by saying that we have received 78,000 applicantion since the process opened up three weeks ago. Applications end on Aug. 31. The selection process will end in 2015. First of all, 50 to 100 applicants per region will be short-listed. After that, these few thousand will be be tested and challenged. In 2015, 28 to 40 will be selected for the final round of training over seven years, and four will emerge for the mission in 2023. After that, four more will go up every two years, for 10 years.

I guess one of the reasons I would want to go is that I am motivated to constantly challenge myself. I think challenge brings out the best in people as individuals and as a society. I think it would be an opportunity to overcome adversity, learn new things, and share them with everyone on Earth.

There will be some public involvment in that people will be able to see the training on television, which leads to the question of whether this is like reality TV. What the public will see is how we will prepare the crew, which will introduce people to notions of group dynamics. This will increase awareness of this domain. People will be able to understand better, then, their own lives in relation their own group dynamics, whether in the workplace or families or commuities. So there is this edifying aspect in terms of global public education.

Television will be buying broadcast rights, an aspect that has made some critics uncomfortable, and linked this to reality TV. But people associate reality TV with Survivor and so on. But this is not what this is about at all. In terms of the group dynamics, it will be on a higher level in terms of being educational.

I find the issue of transparency and publicity very interesting, and I am eager to see how it plays out. I wonder if it can be engaging enough to maintain an audience while also accomplishing all the very hard challenges it faces. I do wonder if this can actually bring out enough support from the public - however, I have been pleasantly surprised recently when I've discussed this with people. I think there are actually vast reserves of interest out there for something like this, and I think the public appetite is more favourable than I would have expected, to the point of being downright supportive for the most part. I think we saw a glimpse of this through Chris Hadfield's recent flight.

I see the greatest challenges for a crew member as being the social dynamic. You are going to be spending a very large amount of time with a very small number of people. I think I could do it, but I've obviously never had an experience quite like that. I see other major challenges as being essentially indoors (or in a space suit) forever, and never experiencing Earth again. Although I think I could handle these, until I actually go through some training, I won't know for sure (assuming you really can ever know).